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Katie Daynes

Katie Daynes has written oodles of books for Usborne, from lifting the flaps on germs and poo, through things to spot in the sea and at school, to the life stories of Nelson Mandela and Marie Antoinette. She wrote My First Chess Book after being taught by her son, Joe Birks, who became the British Under 9 Chess Champion in 2017. She now lives in Yorkshire with her architect husband, two inquisitive children and a hamster called Toffee. When she’s not writing books, Katie likes walking on the blustery moors, meeting friends for coffee and playing competitive board games.

Press Reviews

Hard to judge a reading series by one book alone, but this title has all the right ingredients and even a recipe. Simple text is complemented by quirky cartoon-like artwork, while speech bubbles inject humour and help the story along. Usborne describes the books as "stories" for newly independent readers, but this one belongs more comfortably on the non-fiction shelf, tracing the origin of chocolate from the South American rainforest to the sweetshop. Mayan kings and priests liked their cocoa cold and frothy, but the Spanish, who learned of cocoa from the Aztecs, preferred theirs hot and sweet.Books for Keeps

Reader Reviews

A Tasty BookIt is fascinating to read that the world's most popular treat has such a weird history. This book will take you from cocoa beans to Cadbury's, Lindt and Hershey's.Ishita, 23rd May 2015

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